ECUADOR: Ecuadoreans gear up for second round of voting in election bid that pits leftist Rafael Correa against banana tycoon Gustavo Noboa

Ecuadoreans appeared evenly split on Saturday (November 25) as they prepared to vote in a presidential election that offers a divisive choice between a pro-Washington tycoon offering jobs or a left-wing reformer vowing to take on the unstable country's political elite. A recent poll showed Rafael Correa, a former finance minister allied with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, only slightly ahead of rival Alvaro Noboa before Sunday's election to choose Ecuador's eighth president in a decade. Electoral authorities said they expect initial results as early as Monday morning, but the very tight race and Correa's charges of possible vote rigging have raised concerns of possible post-election protests. Jose Antonio Viera-Gallo, a member of a team electoral observers from the Organization of American States Mission, said, "It is difficult for there to be a massive case of fraud that would influence the result, it is always possible that something happens and that there is some kind of irregularity. But the important thing is to guarantee that the final result corresponds with the sovereign decision made by the Ecuadorean people," he said. Correa, a former finance minister who rattled Wall Street with vows to renegotiate debt, had trailed banana magnate Alvaro Noboa throughout campaigning after he lost October's first-round in the unstable Andean country. Ecuador's electoral contest reflects broader splits in the region where Chavez is promoting his brand of socialist proposals to counter U.S. free trade agreements and the market policies backed by Washington. Correa, a U.S.-trained economist, has appealed to Ecuadoreans fed up with their traditional political class after a decade of instability during which three presidents have been ousted by street protests and a disruptive congress. "They practically imposed the candidate on me after the results of the first round. I have to vote for (Rafael) Correa," one resident of Quito said. However, another Quito resident said: "Sadly, I am not convinced by any of the candidates but lately, I have been inclined to vote for (Gustavo) Noboa because of his proposals." Correa's promises to renegotiate foreign debt and end the influence of the political old guard by disbanding congress worried Wall Street and some middle-class voters who fear his proposals could upend the economy. In early Friday trading, the spread between the interest rate on Ecuador's global bonds over comparable U.S. Treasuries shot up 10 basis points, according to J.P. Morgan's Emerging Bonds Market Index Plus. The spread measures market opinion on how likely a country is to default on its debt. Ecuador's bonds are considered among the highest-risk securities issued in Latin America. After losing the first round, Correa eased his hard-line rhetoric to appeal to undecided and centrist voters. But he has also claimed he was the victim of fraud by the country's political oligarchy. During a radio interview on Saturday (November 25), Correa said that he was physically tired, however, he drew inspiration from the people of Ecuador. "I have been tired for the last year, it is exhaustive work," Correa said during the radio interview where he also sang. "I am physically tired but my soul has been renovated, it is full of energy, full of hope, seeing a people who have had everything stolen from them except hope." Noboa, a friend of Mexican magnate Carlos Slim on his third run for the presidency, has appealed to voters with a populist campaign promising quick remedies to the country's social ills, such as employment and cheap housing for the poor. Investors applaud his market policies but his critics worry he may use political office for the benefit of his businesses, which range from coffee to construction. He has dismissed charges of child exploitation and worker abuse. The tycoon played on voter jitters about Correa by portraying his rival as a radical pro-Chavez communist who will reverse the dollarization of the Ecuadorean economy. Analysts say Noboa would be in a stronger position to deliver stability as his Prian party will hold 28 of the 100 seats in the Congress. Other parties may join his alliance and Correa did not field any congress candidates.

ITN Source | November 28, 2006

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